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| Palestinian Christians attend an open-air mass at Beit Jala as part of their campaign asgainst the route of Israel's barrier along the West Bank. Photograph: Musa Al-Shaer/AFP/Getty Images |
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 October 2012
The British foreign secretary and the Archbishop of Westminster have joined forces in opposing the route of Israel's vast barrier along the West Bank, which adversely affects a community of monks, nuns and Christian families near Bethlehem.
In a private letter seen by the Guardian, William Hague told Archbishop Vincent Nichols that he shared his "concerns about the problem of land confiscation by the Israeli authorities affecting the people of Beit Jala and similar Palestinian communities in the occupied territories".
The letter suggested that the religious orders in Beit Jala needed to give a "clear signal" of opposition to the barrier's route to bolster a legal case against the state of Israel. Shortly afterwards, the monks joined the legal challenge. A ruling in the case is expected by the end of this year.
In addition to Hague's personal intervention, the British consulate in East Jerusalem is supporting the community and the Department for International Development (Dfid) is providing indirect funding for the legal challenge.
The consulate is championing the case as a symbolic example of the impact of the separation barrier on Palestinian communities and the loss of Palestinian land. Around 85% of the barrier is inside the West Bank.
British government policy is that Israel is entitled to build a barrier but it should lie on the internationally recognised 1967 Green Line, not on confiscated Palestinian land. It is concerned that the route is harming the prospects of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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